Chapter 7 - Shadows in the Nursery
By late evening, Ethan had moved Emma out of the Carrington mansion and into a secure, private penthouse suite overlooking the city skyline. A private physician had already examined Emma, confirming that the baby’s heartbeat was strong and steady, though her hand required bandaging from the heel mark left by Eleanor’s shoe.
Emma sat near the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the city lights flicker in the rain. She wore one of Ethan’s oversized cotton shirts, her bandaged hand resting softly against her stomach. Ethan stepped into the room carrying a mug of warm tea, setting it on the side table before kneeling beside her chair, placing his large, warm hand over hers.
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Emma looked down at him, her warm brown eyes filled with a mixture of relief and lingering anxiety. She admitted that she had gone to the grand hall alone because she had received an anonymous text message claiming to have evidence regarding her birth parents—evidence that Eleanor had promised to destroy if Emma didn't show up alone.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the broken silver handle of the cane he had used to smash the vases earlier that afternoon. Inside the hollow handle was a tiny, rolled-up piece of thermal paper that had been tucked inside the wooden structure before he ever picked it up—a hidden note left by someone inside the mansion who wanted him to find it.
